[caption id="attachment_201230" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Argentine President Mauricio Macri and football legend Diego Maradona urged Lionel Messi not to follow through on his vow to quit the national team after its defeat in the Copa America Centenario.[/caption]
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona urged Lionel Messi not to follow through on his vow to quit the national team after its defeat in the Copa America Centenario.
"Messi has to stay in the national team. He has to stay because he still has playing days ahead of him," Maradona was quoted as saying by La Nacion newspaper online.
"He will go to Russia in form to be world champion" at the 2018 World Cup, he added.
Messi shocked his fans with his abrupt resignation from international soccer after Chile defeated Argentina 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Messi is widely rated as the best player in the world, but that was his fourth defeat in an international final for Argentina.
Meanwhile, Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri's also asked the living legend to reconsider his decision.
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